


Dirty Tricks

by Allerleirauh



Category: Star Trek: Deep Space Nine
Genre: Community: rarewomen, Ficlet, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-05-05
Updated: 2013-05-05
Packaged: 2017-12-10 11:47:10
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 737
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/785717
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Allerleirauh/pseuds/Allerleirauh
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>While on board of Dukat's  freighter, Ziyal finally manages to convince Damar to teach her some combat moves.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Dirty Tricks

**Author's Note:**

  * For [talibusorabat (hermitcave)](https://archiveofourown.org/users/hermitcave/gifts).



> Just a little treat that popped into my mind today. I hope you like it...

„Come on, Damar,” Ziyal said, letting her voice drop to a mocking sing-song. It had taken her weeks to wheedle the promise out of him that he would show her some combat moves.

She had used every means available to her to convince him that it was not only in her, but also his very own interest, if she learned better techniques of self-defence as well as attack. It was Damar after all, who had been put in charge of protecting her by Dukat.

In the end it had been this last angle of reasoning that had convinced him that training her was neither a waste of time nor energy on his part.

They were standing in one of the cargo decks of the _Groumall_ now. Crates and boxes had been cleared away, making enough room for them to have a decent fighting ring. Damar had announced that it would be hand-to-hand combat they would start on today.

Ziyal had exchanged her usual dress against a pair of sturdy trousers and a close-fitting shirt. She’d put up her hair into a tight bun and she’d brought with her the knife she’d used while she had been a prisoner of the Breen. She looked at it now, and for a moment she let the memories of that time wash through her mind like pebbles on a shore.

“Let me see that,” Damar’s voice startled her out of her reverie, his voice so utterly condescending it made the hairs on her arms rise as anger welled up in her. For a second she considered refusing him, but then she thought better of it. It had been her initiative that had brought her here. _No_ , she thought. _There’s no need to refuse him._ _Let’s see if I can teach him a lesson instead. That should be effective enough._

Lowering her head to hide her smile, she took the two steps necessary to stand in front of him. Stretching out her hand, she held out the knife to him, blade first. After all she was only a girl, what did she know about knifes, right? She certainly had no idea that it was inappropriate to offer a weapon in any other way than with its handle first.

Damar didn’t seem to think much of it, though the corners of his mouth looked like they were drooping just a little bit lower.

She waited as he stretched out his hand, watching closely as he reached forward to pluck the knife out of her hand by its handle. Subtly she leaned back, forcing him to either take another step or lean forward a little more, hoping he would do the latter. It would destabilize his balance just enough to make her move.

Her eyes sought his and she gave him an innocent smile, waiting for him to lean towards her, feeling the thrill racing through her as he finally did.

She moved as fast as she could. Grabbing his outstretched hand as hard as she could, she tried to pull him towards and past her, bringing up her knee to hit him in the stomach.

She almost succeeded.

At first he came forward easily enough, and her knee was answered by a satisfyingly surprised grunt of his, yet the last move that should have sent him sprawling to the ground and would have allowed her to drop on his back, her knife gracefully sliding towards his neck, never came.

Instead she found herself roughly tackled to the ground and suddenly there was a grinning Cardassian holding her down, twisting her knife out of her grasp. She gritted her teeth in frustration, but only until she saw the look of honest respect on his face. When he spoke there wasn’t even a hint of condescension left in his voice. “I came to teach a girl a few dirty fighting tricks,” he said, and instead of condescension there was an underlying chuckle colouring his tone. “And look what I’ve found, a precious jevonite crystal, rough still, but ready to be sharpened and honed.”

He rose to his feet and offering her his hand, he added, “I’m very much looking forward to teaching you, Ziyal.”

She in turn smiled, because even if she hadn’t succeeded in bringing him down, she was well aware that she had made a victory today, and an important one at that. “As do I, Damar,” she told him, “as do I.”


End file.
